Otsutsuki Invasion
by omegafire17
Summary: In the Hidden Leaf Village, the Chunin Exams are hosted by all five villages, and it's time for the next generation to prove their worth. Yet not long into the event, foes from far off-world intervene, dangerous enough to be a threat even to Kaguya. Semi-retelling of Boruto: Naruto the Movie's second half, Rated T.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the Naruto franchise, nor any of it's characters.

 **Rating:** T

 **As mentioned in the summary, this fic is a semi-retelling of Boruto: Naruto the Movie, 'semi' because the changes begin at the mid-point of the movie, and also because the core events are overall the same. For those who click on this fic without knowledge of 'Hamura's Gift' though, I'd recommend reading it first - it details the overall differences applied to a certain character, and adds some context as well. Sure, it's not a necessary read or anything, but it would help a lot with any confusion.**

 **With all that said, enjoy ;)**

* * *

 _Chunin Exams_

For the third round, the arena was well-packed with spectators - from her seat, Hinata could see much of the crowd, and a clear view of the arena floor down below. If she looked closely, she could also see a lot of familiar faces, close friends included: on one of the upper levels, Kiba and Tamaki leaned against the railing while an elderly Akamaru dozed nearby; Sakura was together with Ino and Temari, having just taken their seats; Kakashi stood together with the wheelchair-bound Guy, Konohamaru, and Iruka. Moreover, she knew many of the others - Sai, Shino, Tenten, Choji, Karui, Kurenai, Mirai - were no doubt watching the exams as well (or at least having the results relayed), interested to see how they'd do even if some of them couldn't be here in person. Behind her, she saw the five Kage seated at the table, particularly Naruto with Shikamaru at his side- even though she wasn't directly looking at him, she smiled.

Part of her still remembered back though to what happened recently... mmh, she truly hoped Boruto would understand one day. She understood his desire to have Naruto around more, as she shared it, but his duty as Hokage was important as well.

From behind her, she and Himawari could hear Shikamaru say "All right, it's almost time."

"Yeah."

Himawari soon looked at her, closed-eyed grinning with excitement- she couldn't wait. Hinata returned the smile, noting that like her brother, Himawari kinda took after Naruto with the grins - she didn't mind that at all, loving it herself.

Down below, Rock Lee walked up on cue - as usual, his voice carried enough enthusiasm that he could easily be heard. "As I'm sure you are all aware-" he spoke, loud enough to carry throughout the arena, but also addressed to the genin before him. "-Round Three consists of individual matches! You may even face a teammate who already knows your skills. You will have three matches, and then the winners in Blocks A, B, and C, will battle in a three-way final. Are you ready?"

"Yes!"

Even as Lee spoke, Hinata observed the four teams for a little while: Team Yurui, composed of Tarui, Toroi, and Yurui himself - she didn't know much about them, other than being from the Hidden Cloud; Team Shinki, composed of Yodo, Araya, and Shinki himself - Hinata didn't know much about Araya, but Yodo and Shinki themselves were of some interest, as from what she'd heard Gaara was essentially a father to both of them, either by blood or adopted. Having considerable more knowledge of the other two teams, she smiled as she beheld Team Moegi, ie Inojin, Chocho, and Shikadai, all of whom were much like one of their parents, yet still having traits of the other. And then of course, Team Konohamaru, where Boruto stood along with Sarada and Mitsuki - she was proud of Sakura's daughter, though admittedly she had some curiosity about Mitsuki, as he seemed an odd one.

Not exactly creepy, but odd, kinda like Sai.

By the time she came out of it though, the board had lit up with the first match: _Boruto Uzumaki vs. Yurui._

"And now, Round Three of the Chunin Selection Exams begins! Challengers, step forward!"

Himawari raised her hands. "Good luck, big brother!" she called down, which nearly made Hinata giggle.

It still seemed like not that long ago, Himawari had been angry at Boruto for ripping her bear- heh, how time flies.

The first match began quickly, with Boruto and Yurui going at it with their kunai - Yurui soon proved himself a little arrogant, with Boruto refuting his words. They seemed even enough at hand-to-hand combat, but Yurui soon forced Boruto backward with his bubble gum bubbles, which surprisingly exploded- thankfully Boruto was only stunned by this, to her little relief. He soon had to face dozen's of Yurui's bubbles, but after a quick glance up at the Kage's box, quickly had him reach for his pouch - however, he instead did some vague motion with his right hand instead, and threw a Wind-style shruiken at him. At first it looked like it was gonna miss, but then it spun faster and changed direction, cutting across Yurui's currently-being-chewed bubble... which exploded in his face, knocking him out and the others soon harmlessly popped.

"The winner is the Hidden Leaf's Boruto Uzumaki!" Lee announced, even as Boruto grinned, raising a fist.

Himawari soon jumped up from her seat, bouncing a little. "Yeah, he won! He won!" she cheered, looking straight at her- feeling warmer, Hinata returned the smile. "He's pretty good, mommy."

"I certainly think so, Himawari."

...

The matches all seemed to go by quickly, just like with Boruto's.

 _Sarada vs. Tarui_ was almost a joke; she beat the guy with one Chakra-Enhanced-Strength punch, which sent him into the far wall; Hinata was sheepish, wondering how his clan and village would react to that. Sarada looked quite pleased with her win, but Sakura's arena-wide cheer ("Ah yeah! That's my girl! Alright!") seemed to make her a little sheepish hehe- probably embarrassed too, as mothers like them do. _Mitsuki vs. Toroi_ went by less sharply, as it took a little more time, but the result was still in the Leaf's favor... Toroi was clearly strong - wielding the giant shuriken as easily as they might a kunai - but Mitsuki had been too quick for him, and unable to dodge the latter's more 'stretchy' arms. After that though, things started to tilt the other way: _Inojin vs. Araya_ and _Chocho vs. Shinki_ , both of the Ino-Shika-Cho members ultimately lost despite their skills. Hopefully though, knowing those kids they'd get stronger for the next time - and besides, if the fight was good there was no shame in losing.

Things changed considerably for the next match however...

"Seventh match, begin!"

Boruto and Shikadai went at it, all over the place - Hinata quickly noticed Naruto walking to the front, to see his son at a closer distance. She smiled a little, seeing what happened next just as he did. "Huh, Shadow Clones?" he breathed, surprised - she felt similar, but then remembered he mentioning training under Sasuke; maybe he'd taught her son?

Ahh, but that brings back a lot of memories.

Shikadai kept his cool; he manipulated his shadow across the battlefield, tracking the real Boruto as closely as he could, including one who got behind him. Several of his clones dodged it, then just when it seemed to get to one, Boruto used that clone as a jump-off point and went straight toward Shikadai- he dodged underneath the strike, but Boruto quickly turned around, about to land another Gentle Fist-style attack.

His opponent quickly changed his hand-sign - Boruto's strike never touched Shikadai.

They struggled under his Shadow Field Jutsu, but the clones were unable to stay for long, and soon as they vanished Shikadai immediately focused his jutsu upon the real Boruto, making it 'just' a line between. "It'd be great if you gave up soon" he said knowingly, holding out a kunai just in case.

Hinata made a sound, knowing Boruto almost had his opponent there- but then again, Shikamaru's son was equally a genius even without his clan's signature jutsu. Knowing their intelligence, Shikadai probably had a number of countermeasures if Boruto had done this and/or that, so she guessed it was just a little bad luck to have faced him.

On the field though, Boruto did something with his right hand again... and then suddenly, much to all their surprise, at least a hundred Shadow Clones popped up. Shikadai warily observed this for a bit before looking at the real one, then made a sound and dropped his kunai, hands raised- "The hell with it. I'm giving up."

At that, Hinata felt a little smile come up; he's definitely his father's son - in fact, a quick glance behind her showed Shikamaru not surprised whatsoever, merely shrugging with a little smile. She then turned to Naruto, but quickly noticed he seemed still, intent upon something down below... and it stayed that way for several seconds, which started to worry her even as Himawari cheered for her brother.

She quickly stood up. "What's the matter, dear?"

Naruto slowly glanced at her. "Hinata, around his arm" he breathed, voice faint. "Use your Byakugan."

Hinata jolted, feeling something's really wrong- she nodded though, turning toward the arena. With barely a motion she activated her Byakugan, feeling the veins 'strain' against her face - her vision encompassed the entire arena, and if she'd wanted she could have seen everyone all at once. Instead she focused upon Boruto, seeing his chakra points and everything seeming to be normal, as did his equipment- wait, what was that? On his right hand, something was attached almost like a bracer, and aimed so that it's open end was aligned with his palm.

"Well?"

"It's some ninja tool. He has it attached onto his arm" she breathed carefully - but as soon as she finished, Byakugan fading, a thought entered her mind. "*gasp* Is that how he-?"

Naruto's brow furrowed... and before he could answer, had already jumped down from the Kage box.

Hinata could only stand there, feeling her heart grow heavier- first his issues with Naruto's Hokage duty, and now this? Below, Boruto excitedly greeted his father at first, asking if he saw his match and even holding up his arm for a fist bump... but instead, with motions as forced as she'd ever seen, he instead grabbed Boruto's arm, revealing the Kote.

"Go on; explain yourself."

Boruto had no answer, or at least none she could hear from up here.

" _This_ is prohibited in the Chunin Exams" Naruto continued- it had to be hard, yet he still spoke with disappointment. "Using a ninja tool instead of your own chakra, defeats the purpose of this event, to nurture new shinobi. ...Lee, Boruto Uzumaki is disqualified; please change the winner to Shikadai Nara."

Even as Lee did as instructed after a moment, the board reflecting this, Hinata could almost feel the palpable change in the arena's emotions- peripherally, she could hear Himawari confused as well, wondering what's going on. The Kage said something behind her but she heard little, just focused upon Boruto and his uncharacteristic silence... even as Naruto pulled off his headband.

"You're no longer a ninja either."

Beside her: "Mom?" Himawari asked, still confessed- Hinata half-turned toward her. "What happened to Boruto? Did he do something bad?"

She couldn't even bring herself to answer- mmh, she just held Himawari closer to her, looking back down at the arena, at her son. "Boruto..."

What Naruto said next, she couldn't quite make out... but whatever it was, Boruto slapped his father's arm away (and his words weren't quiet).

"Really? You'll 'talk to me later'? Yeah right, like you actually _make_ the time to _do that_ dad. If you'd talked to me before all this, I- then I... I wouldn't have ended up in this damn mess!"

Hinata almost felt little tears coming on- oh Boruto... she knew he'd been having trouble without Naruto, but she didn't think it'd drive him _this far_. But almost as quickly as silence reigned over the arena, another voice spoke then- after a few seconds she saw him below, speaking to Naruto and having some cameraman follow him.

She didn't recognize him or his voice right away, but from the way Naruto regarded him, she slowly thought he must be that Katasuke guy she'd heard about... what is he doing though?

He began to speak to the arena, with the video feed changing to focus upon him. "Listen, everyone. Yes, it's true: Boruto used a Scientific Ninja Tool. I know such things are prohibited, but there's no denying that this tool made it possible for him to reach this point."

Naruto spoke his name, clearly a little angry; Katasuke ignored him and continued speaking, something about the Kote's demonstrations. Already Hinata found herself strongly disliking this man, not just for his dismissal of Naruto - his superior _and_ the Hokage - but because of Boruto's reaction; he knew him, and it'd been clearly said the Science Ninja Weapons Team had developed the Kote, which she knew Katasuke was leader of.

It wasn't hard to put the pieces together-

-as soon as she thought this though, something - _someone_ \- landed on the arena floor with an audible-if-low-key boom. Of course the arena's attention was on this event, but it took several seconds for the smoke to clear... quickly, Naruto placed himself in front of Boruto, and by instinct Lee and Shikadai stepped back a distance. At the same time that was going on, wary, Hinata activated her Byakugan again and focused upon the new arrival-

He was a big man, seeming to be about two meters tall, and his hands were abnormally-large. Whatever she registered of his style, her gaze was instead drawn toward several more distinguishing features: his pale-white skin, a single horn (stubbed for some reason), and the distinctive irides of Byakugan.

-her blood chilled a little: the Otsutsuki Clan!

An image of Toneri flashed into her mind, but how could this be? He'd said he was the last of his clan... unless this one wasn't a descendant of Kaguya? Just as soon as this thought finished, Hinata registered that below, Katasuke was stepping forward and addressing the intruder despite Naruto's warning-

-and he payed for it.

The intruder's blow was tremendous; gale-force wind slammed into everyone nearby, Naruto shielding Boruto while Lee managed to grab Shikadai. Just as quickly the blow rang through the entire arena, destroying much of the ground and the supports, bringing sections of the roof down- even as Himawari yelped, Hinata reacted instinctively, grabbing her daughter and jumping down from the Kage's box. She wasn't alone: the other four Kage, along with Shikamaru all jumped free from said structure, grabbing everyone they possibly could in the process. Landing nimbly, Himawari clung to her out of instinct, but soon as they landed Hinata instantly saw the roof above their heads also giving away - her only options of getting her daughter to safety meant down to the arena floor, to another section, or just fly up. One held the stranger, the other sections still had falling roofs, and up above appeared another figure in the sky; none were good options.

So instead, Hinata instantly reached deeper - her irides changed, going from Byakugan to Tenseigan(-with-Byakugan-veins); this had been awhile. Letting go of Himawari, she focused her chakra - it'd be easy enough, but it had to be done so that no one else was caught in the shockwave.

Mentally: _"Almighty Push!"_

With a great rush, the falling roof splintered from the gravitational force, and then the pieces were dashed against it even faster. In less than a second they then crumbled into dust particles that floated upward... most people had no idea what just happened, but that didn't matter.

It was the same situation across the arena; people running in terror and threatened by the pieces of ceiling that fell. Nearby, Sakura had punched up her section, and the pieces were then blasted away by Temari - Ino seemed to have simply moved away, somewhat close to her and Himawari now. On another section, helping protect Lee, Shikadai, and the other civilians, Gaara had his Iron Sand hold up the falling debris without much effort. At the same time, all the other ninja were busy helping out; the likes of Kakashi, Konohamaru, and Kankuro were helping people out of danger, as were the other four Kage in their own ways. Even Sarada and Mitsuki were helping with the hurried evacuation, but it was complete chaos and she knew they were all in danger.

In her vision, Hinata saw the other figure descend from the sky, floating in mid-air; male, albeit longer-haired as it reached down to his waist in a ponytail, and what seemed to be bull's horns. It was harder to tell from the side, but she guessed he also had the Byakugan, for in her vision she soon saw distinctive veins appear on the side of his face.

At the same time, Himawari had only just now registered what she'd done. "What the-? Mom, what happened to your eyes?" she asked, feeling so much at once. "And what's going on!?"

She knew that's her fault; she'd never really said she had the Tenseigan (unless you counted vague references), or even that they existed (been planning on saving that till they were older)- but now wasn't the time for explanations.

"Ino!" Hinata called. "Take Himawari and go!"

It turned out she'd been right to so; by the time she finished, the newest stranger had appeared behind Naruto. Before he could do more than turn around, the stranger had kicked him into/through the far wall-

-she instantly vaulted over the railing.

"Mom!" Himawari called after her, but after that Ino had already grabbed her, and they disappeared.

The stranger barely seemed to notice Boruto at all, but the moment he took a step forward, Hinata redoubled her speed. He stopped upon sensing her, not moving as she took up a stance in front of her son... his brow furrowed slightly as he looked at her, seeming intent now- Hinata remained ready for anything.

"I don't recognize those eyes" he said, as if vaguely interested, before a small grin appeared. "But the veins are unmistakably Byakugan. An unexpected bonus."

Hinata remained stone-faced, but inwardly her mind was racing a bit; he didn't recognize the Tenseigan - whoever these two were, they clearly hadn't developed it at all. She supposed it's plausible, as the first one of Kaguya's line to develop it had been Hamura, and even that was a long time ago- if they weren't aware there was a stronger variant to the Byakugan till now, then she saw no reason to give them any more information than necessary.

From behind her though, due to his fear, Boruto instantly took aim and - before Hinata could say a word - fired a Lightning-style jutsu from the Kote. The stranger dodged easily but his transparent 'sweeper' wasn't so lucky, as the jutsu tore a small hole in it; the stranger's brow furrowed even deeper, and he discarded it while staring coldly at Boruto-

-who was shaking, but he still kept his hand up.

"Boruto, stop!"

Too late; he'd already fired a Fire-style jutsu-

-the stranger held up his right hand, and she saw the styling of a Rinnegan on his palm.

Red though it was, it nonetheless worked like the original, absorbing the jutsu without so much as a blink. In Boruto's desperation, he kept on firing ("I said stop it! Boruto!") before he finally registered his failure and her voice, 'helped' by the Kote clicking empty after the fifth consecutive jutsu.

...

Even in his haste to get to the arena, to warn Naruto, he'd been too late; they'd already struck. Sasuke quickly noted most people were evacuated, the various shinobi helping, and this included many of the hopeful genin- yet soon as he came upon the scene, his eyes beheld several things at once. One being that at the moment, Naruto had been knocked out of the arena (soon to get back), and right now Hinata guarded her son- dangerous, but she could handle herself. And two, not all the genin had evacuated; Mitsuki and Sarada were still there, helping those were still trapped in the debris.

He felt a brief touch of pride, but immediately noticed a falling piece of rubble that they hadn't.

Sasuke moved immediately-

-the rubble fell, briefly stunning Mitsuki, who called out for Sarada in concern until he registered things.

"Oh, dad!?"

"You don't seem to be injured" he merely said, quickly landing upon the arena floor - yet as soon as he did, the big guy was there, glowing weapon already in hand.

"Here's payback for before!" he rumbled, already swinging-

-Sasuke prepared to move, but it was unnecessary; a very distinctive shadow engulfed the hulking brute and his weapon, immobilizing him. Sasuke briefly glanced over, seeing that Shikamaru also managed to catch the other one, which led him to briefly smirk.

He moved himself and Sarada over in that direction.

...

Hinata tensed as the stranger started to move forward, but she didn't have to intervene; Naruto came up from behind him. The stranger dodged the attack, and Hinata took that opportunity to quickly grab Boruto, dashing back a good distance- at the same time, she saw the efforts of Shikamaru had immobilized the first stranger (a quick check showed that applied to both).

Meeting up at nearly the same time, Naruto soon joined her as did Sasuke - behind them were Boruto and Sarada, both of which she intended to protect. "Boruto, are you alright?" Sarada asked, her son answering that he's fine.

Ahead of them, the stranger just closed his eyes. "How trivial" he said, bored, while in his right hand the Rinnegan glowed red... and absorbed Shikamaru's jutsu easily, making them all tenser. "Kinshiki."

"Right."

Together they both floated upward, and they all looked upward at the two.

"We can't use our powers right here" Sasuke said, a little grim. "Everyone will get dragged in."

"And it seems I'm the one they're after" Naruto breathed, equally such. "I'll try to lure them away."

"First things first though, gain as much information as possible" Hinata said, low before louder: "Tell us, who are you guys?"

"I am Kinshiki Otsutsuki" the bigger one said, "and this is Lord Momoshiki Otsutsuki."

"Just what do you want with me?" Naruto asked, taking over from her.

"We'll turn the scattered chakra into one fruit, and finish what Kaguya failed to do on this seedbed."

Hinata instantly knew this had to do with the Divine Tree, which absorbed chakra from others to produce fruit- did it never end?

"The scroll said these guys would come to steal the chakra from the fruit of the divine tree" Sasuke continued, still grim, "This is why Kaguya was amassing an army of White Zetsu."

Naruto grunted. "First Kaguya, and now this" he said, almost echoing her thoughts. "And this fruit stuff?"

"A kind of medicine."

"That's right" the one called Momoshiki stated; he was smugly confident even as he raised his palm, where little red seed-like things resided. "As long as we have this, we remain young, immortal, and invincible. You poor, awkward humans- unless you trained and perserve endlessly, and pointlessly, you get nowhere at all. But me? Just watch; with these medicine I can acquire true power, instantly with no effort whatsoever."

"Don't speak such nonsense" Hinata called up, fist clenched. "That's not how one becomes stronger at all!"

Somewhat unnoticed by her, Boruto jolted at those words- which continued as they all talked.

"She's right; don't make me laugh" Naruto continued, determined himself. "True power is something you have to earn!"

Sasuke made a motion. "Most of the time; some of us are born with skill" he mused, but lighter. "Yet even still, that doesn't just make us invincible- one wrong move, one kink in your armor or your determination falters, and it's over."

Neither of them had much reaction, but overall it was Momoshiki who was unimpressed. "Vulgar creatures such as you wouldn't understand" he merely said, as if he hadn't heard a word. "I didn't want to sully my cloak, but it seems I'll have to. I'll rearrange this seedbed and make it beautiful, despite these annoying nuisances" he continued, before instantly downing all his tiny fruit seeds.

The reaction was immediate: with her Tenseigan activated, she immediately saw that his chakra - already swirling around both their points in a consistent pattern - increased exponentially. Without it she could've infiltrated their chakra systems from this distance, but with such a current it'd be wasteful to even try... and moreover she knew with such a fast stream of chakra, it'd cause difficulty with her Gentle Fist style. After all, if she hit a point that already had chakra flowing through it, the flow could forcibly re-open the blocked point in an instant. The stronger the chakra the more likely it'd reopen too, in addition to the increasing difficulty that she could close it with such a flow, let alone _keeping it_ closed.

Momoshiki held out his hand, Rinnegan-palm up. "Here's the jutsu I acquired earlier" he spoke, before a total of six jutsu burst from his palm - five of the basic change-in-chakra-natures, but the sixth was unmistakably that of a Tailed Beast Bomb! Even as they watched in increasing horror, the latter expanded in size until it was the size of a house... and then finally, hovering overhead, the size of the arena itself! Behind her, both shaking from the fear, Sarada briefly fell to her knees while Boruto just stared upward- the Tailed Beast Bomb cackled with power it shouldn't normally have, including electricity and all the other elements. It struck outward with such force, blasting sections of the rubble yet again and causing explosions, and causing yells from the few people that still remained.

Behind her, Boruto saw Sarada's fear and it seemed to galvanize him- he quickly formed a Shadow Clone.

Perhaps Momoshiki saw this, for he said "It's meaningless!" and launched something resembling a fiery phoenix at them-

She and Sasuke tensed, ready, but Naruto was the fastest.

-it exploded against them, destroying a section of the arena, but they were completely unharmed. Around each group of civilians, Naruto's Shadow Clones all had an area enveloped by his chakra cloak, while around them a growling version of Kurama's head sat. Boruto and Sarada were stunned, wondering at what they saw even as the former looked at his father- just like Himawari with the Tenseigan, Boruto hadn't seen either of them at full power. At the same time: "I'll get all the civilians to safety" Hinata said to them both - that was their top priority, and she could do it while they stalled/protect everyone - glancing at Sasuke to help Naruto, who nodded.

"Mom! It's too dangerous!"

She paused, before looking straight at Boruto- he was worried, but then slowly registered the fact that her eyes were entirely different.

"I'll be fine, Boruto" she reassured, determined.

He seemed stunned, but there wasn't time- quickly, Hinata moved out of Kurama's head... exuding chakra from every chakra point, she quickly formed a Palm Rotation around herself. It was well she did, considering Momoshiki's subsequent attacks and enjoyment of the suffering he caused, but the laughter at this was the _absolute worst_.

...

Naruto grunted, trying to keep Kurama's head intact even as Momoshiki hit them with a giant lightning bolt- all the attack needed was a dragon's head, and it'd be exactly like Sasuke's Kirin technique. His clones had an equally hard time, but they kept at it to protect the people until Hinata could get to them, even as extremely powerful elemental bursts rained down upon them, essentially psuedo forces-of-nature.

Beside him Sasuke raised his hand, purple chakra appearing. "If the real you goes down, we're all finished" he said, determined.

"Thanks for the help, Sasuke."

Even as he spoke, Kurama was enveloped by Sasuke's Susanoo, which formed head-only around his form. Yet still the elemental attacks continued, including the likes of water spouts, lightning storms, tornadoes, and even giant shards of ice... all the while Momoshik was just laughing, clearly enjoying his sense of power as well as the suffering he inflicted. He was powerful; the attacks splintered sections of Sasuke's Susanoo, and even caused small cuts inside, such as across Boruto's jacket. Naruto grunted, teeth gritted as he fought to keep them all safe for awhile longer, but with all the civilians still being evacuated he couldn't go all-out, and neither could Sasuke or Hinata.

Momoshiki continued laughing with a grin. "After this, it's over!" he called, doing a throwing motion. "But you must not die, demon fox."

Kurama growled his anger at that old title, but the biggest problem was much more immediate: the Tailed Beast Bomb descending from on-high.

Naruto stilled - there was no longer any choice.

"Sasuke" he spoke, quiet. "Take care of them both" he finished, slowly looking at his friend... Sasuke was carefully inscrutable as usual, but his eyes changed slightly.

"Understood."

They both knew it might end badly, yet it had to be done - they should be able to defeat these enemies, but they couldn't do so without destroying the village in the process. They wanted him specifically for Kurama, and they needed him alive to do it; that meant that in order to take Kurama's power, they'd take them him away since that's all they really wanted, and away from the village so they could do it without distraction. Once that happened, Naruto knew Hinata, Sasuke, and the other Kage would all come for him, wherever these two went... and there they could truly fight at full power. It was a risky plan he knew, but it had to be done - he could easily be unconscious until he finds himself in the enemy's grasp, but that didn't scare him. They would use _just_ _enough_ power to protect everyone, and it'd cost them, but no more than that...

All that he'd managed to implicate to Sasuke, who grasped things faster than he could've ever explained out loud. He's just sorry there isn't more time to warn Boruto, to try and mend things... he'd made such a mess of this, and he'd never been aware of it until now...

Yet it'd have to wait; he hated to do it, but it's necessary - a rush went through him, his friend implicating not to get distracted now that he's chosen the plan.

Naruto clasped his hands together, ready. "Let's do this, Kurama!" he exclaimed, "You better not be out of shape now!"

 _"Hah, don't be an idiot! I'm always ready to go!"_

"Right!"

With a yell, Naruto and his clones - finally free of civilians - all surged with power, chakra cloaks growing larger and larger. Around the arena's perimeter, even more chakra swirled up, adding and combining with those produced by his clones until they resembled flame-like tails- nine in total that rose high above, surrounding the Tailed Beast Bomb and the arena in a complete circle.

"RRRRRRAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!-"

-together, they roared as Kurama's entire body-minus-tails formed, just keeping everyone inside his body - in an instant he pushed against the Tailed Beast Bomb with both claws. The impact jarred them both, but they held fast as it continued to bare down... around the arena, all nine tails soon converged above the Tailed Beast Bomb, forming a full barrier.

The explosion was as strong as anything he'd faced in the War, and yet time seemed to slow during the flash-point. In that moment, Naruto turned toward his son... he wasn't sure what Boruto was feeling besides fear, at least not this quickly, but still he smiled- he's sorry for the mess, and hopes he'll forgive him someday.

He thought he heard "Dad, no!" before the shock-wave's force knocked him out.

...

 _Slightly earlier_

Just like the others, the people yelped as they rushed down to the ground at high speed- however, only Hinata felt the strain as they landed, like a feather even, even if they didn't understand it.

"Please go on; it's not safe here" she told them, about to turn back before her vision shifted-

-the floating Tailed Beast Bomb started to descend.

Horror engulfed her, knowing if that hit without resistance, the entire village could be destroyed!

"Everyone, get away!" Hinata yelled, the urgency seeming to startle him into doing so. "As far as you can!"

Even as she spoke, the arena rumbled with incoming forces, both the descending Tailed Beast Bomb and the nine telltale flame-like tails that surrounded the arena; Naruto's work. She had faith in her husband, yet still she held her hands outward, starting to work her chakra while floating upward- even if the explosion was contained, she wanted to make sure the shock-waves that resulted were minimized.

Worse-cast scenario, the chakra cloak would flicker before the explosion expended itself, and that force could leak out; not on her watch.

 _"Tenseigan: Palm Rotation!"_

Underneath her direction, the air around the arena began to swirl around at high speeds, augmented by her chakra- soon there was a circular dome that over-layed Naruto/Kurama's chakra cloak, ready for it. The explosion itself almost deafened her, the barriers doing everything they could to contain the explosion, with only the pressure allowed to seep out the top - she barely focused upon that in her strain, and the waiting was the longest seconds of her life...

...even afterward, her vision had difficulty seeing through the thick black smoke that'd resulted.

 _"Naruto! Boruto!"_ she thought, instantly flying toward the debris - partway through, another figure emerged from the smoke.

Time seemed to slow somewhat as this registered; Hinata saw Sasuke, unharmed, holding Boruto and Sarada in his arms. The latter two were unconscious, but their chakras were stable... Sasuke himself registered her, where she was going and why; he didn't attempt to stop her.

Only gave her a non-verbal 'good luck'.

Then they passed each other, and Hinata let out a relieved breath; Boruto was safe, as was Sasuke and Sarada. That's a weight of her chest... but now it's time to go after her husband, and bring him back...

The trip through the smoke was difficult, as she could barely make things out correctly- then suddenly she came upon a clear space. The two Otsutsuki members were there, with Momoshiki seemingly using a Wind-style technique to keep the debris/smoke from touching them; neither of them had a speck on their clothes. She had a brief flash of his cold reaction when his clothes were damage, and figured he must care a great deal about his vanity - that in addition to his behavior during the attack all spoke of someone used to power, someone who never worked hard in his life and just wanted everything _now_. Thus far it's still only a theory, but she's leaning toward it...

Her heart throbbed a bit; Naruto was a distance away from them, laying face-down- 'just' unconscious but even still.

At the time, he was already walking toward Naruto- but the moment they sensed her, he stopped. She didn't try to attack them upfront, and merely just planted herself in front of her husband, at the ready for anything.

"You again" Momoshiki spoke as if slightly irritated, but it soon vanished. "Kaguya's Byakugan were probably stolen by some late ancestor of yours. Yet your survival now is proof your eyes are powerful, whatever they have become. I shall be glad to add them to my collection, perhaps even my personal use, after I've extracted the demon fox."

Her voice was almost a hiss: "Like hell you will."

His expression furrowed, and she could read it easily: 'Did this creature just talk back to me?'

"It's inevitable" he merely said. "Kinshiki."

"Right."

The big guy moved so fast that without the Tenseigan enhancing her eyes, she wasn't certain she'd have seen his form blur, let alone that he appeared _right in front of her_. Having seen his strength, she avoided the direct blow and instead flew up a bit, having to twist her body to avoid the bladed weapon- just as his arm descended, she directed a small blow to a chakra point by his elbow. As predicted, due to the chakra surging through his pathway system, the blocked point was soon forcibly re-opened; even a single half-serious blow was undone 'easily'. His blow cracked the ground below his fist even as she moved away, but Kinshiki was soon on her again... going by his reaction, he hadn't expected her to be this fast, but had soon adjusted to that fact.

Moreover, he hadn't noticed his chakra point being blocked at all... in fact, neither he nor Momoshiki even had their Byakugan _activated!_ The arrogance and hubris of it all stunned her, but she'd still use it against them if possible.

They moved/fought all over the arena, though Kinshiki seemed to keep his blows lower-key so that they wouldn't threaten Naruto- Momoshiki just watched dispassionately. Not having tested Kinshiki's full strength yet, Hinata didn't know how she compared exactly, but she could already tell it'd be difficult for her to beat them one-on-two in her base form, without the freedom to use her full strength here. Kinshiki alone, possibly given time and effort, and Momoshiki as well considering that that while his Rinnegan made ninjutsu out-of-the-question, that didn't stop her from using taijutsu. Yet Kinshiki was still a problem, as every blow with his fists or his spontaneously-created weapons made her hard-pressed to return the favor, not helped by his speed.

Yet even still she managed quite a few, hard enough to push him back when she got a good one in. After a few seconds, she managed that once again, skidding the big guy back near Momoshiki while she stood near Naruto - she let out a small breath, the effort of the small battle showing but nothing truly exhausting, while Naruto seemed to stir beside her.

She hoped he was waking up.

"Just like the other one" Kinshiki spoke to his 'lord'. "Though she doesn't have the Rinnegan, she's as fast and strong as him."

Hinata hesitated a bit, if still on the lookout for any more blows- they must mean Sasuke. If he'd fought these two before, or perhaps just Kinshiki since Momoshiki seemed to avoid direct battle, that explained why his horn was stubbed.

"Obviously" Momoshiki spoke, as if irritated. "But this is taking too long. We'll take the demon fox and come back for this creature's eyes later" he spoke, aiming his left Rinnegan palm at her (she noticed that distinction, as he'd held up the right Rinnegan to absorb attacks). Then just as suddenly, a Lightning-style jutsu sprang at her-

She reacted instinctively, turning into a circle. _"Rotation!"_

-her jutsu managed to repel Momoshiki's attack, but just as she was spinning, there was a flicker of movement from Naruto. Just as suddenly, a cloud of white smoke engulfed him to her small surprise- but she yelped, as something broke through her Palm Rotation, not helped by her own half-distracted state in that moment. In an instant, Kinshiki was there, aiming at her currently-turned-back... it took a lot of speed, but Hinata _just_ managed to turn herself toward the attack, putting her chakra into the block- the impact still jarred her bones. She was sent skidding until she collided with the mass of rubble of the arena, but he'd been holding back; it was meant to wound her, not kill.

Her body hurt, but nothing was broken and she saw what happened; somehow Naruto had created two Shadow Clones, probably half-conscious in doing so. But even in her dazed mind, she noticed something was off about where they were placed... what was...?

Back to the Otsutsuki's, Momoshiki observed the clones with distaste. "A futile distraction" he spoke, creating chakra receivers - he threw them, and a single one impaled all three in the lower leg, each groaning at impact. Two instantly vanished, but one remained- "There" he spoke with satisfaction.

Trying to rise from the rubble, Hinata saw all this happen. "N-Naruto!" she cried out, coughing - yet before she could do much more than stand, they were already flying off. She was preparing to go after them, or even use Universal Pull instead, when something like a portal suddenly opened up and they flew into it, the jutsu instantly closing on itself afterward...

Her breathing was heavy, heart equally weighed-down and yet she quickly grunted. Okay... okay, so he's been captured; that just meant she had to get him back, as they would all do - can't just let herself cry over this. Even as she had these thoughts though, something still didn't strike her right- when Naruto had created those Shadow Clones, his positioning had been off. The two clones farthest from him were one thing, but the Naruto the Otsutsuki members had kidnapped had been five whole feet away from where he'd been lying... and where that spot was, lay a piece of rubble that was mixed in among the others...

Slowly, carefully, Hinata went over to the spot - she had to check this out.

"They're gone" she spoke faintly.

Several seconds passed... then another cloud of white smoke appeared with a _poof_ , the rubble having transformed into the real Naruto!

"Naruto!" she called in relief, quickly bending down and transferring her chakra to his. "You're okay."

He barely moved, and his sound was so faint she could hardly hear it; this effort had taken a lot out of him, though according to her Tenseigan, he still had plenty of chakra left (a great deal of that from Kurama). However something was wrong; Kurama's chakra wasn't flowing throughout his body, and in fact wasn't doing _anything_ right now, leaving Naruto weak. When she glanced up though, remembering the Otsutsuki duo were here for Kurama, she realized why; they were going to try and extract him. Kurama had to conserve his chakra to resist their influence, and that meant he couldn't send any to heal Naruto - assuming that dimensional gap would even allow it, though admittedly she didn't know much about those nuances.

No wonder he wasn't recovering quickly; he'd always had Kurama's help there.

"It's gonna be okay, Naruto" she breathed gently, holding him close, stabilizing his chakra enough for short-distance travel. "We'll get you help."

His eyes were closed, but still he stirred. "We gotta... go after them, after..." he breathed, before he slipped into unconsciousness again- it hurt her a little, but he's okay and she's gonna make sure of it. Plus she knew why he'd said it; eventually Naruto's deception would be exposed, and they'd come back to the village - after Naruto's healed up enough, they were gonna have to intercept them before that happened.

* * *

 **Thanks in part to Hinata having the Tenseigan, that made it fairly easy to change the result of her trying to get Naruto back. Initially I would've made it not a 'complete' failure, but after awhile, I came up with this little twist hehe ;)**

 **Of course, this is still a semi-retelling - more is to come.**

 **And on a side note, Momoshiki being able to use Ice Style - ie the ice shards during the arena attack - is a nod to the novel version of the movie.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the Naruto franchise, nor any of it's characters.

 **Rating:** T

 **Enjoy ;)**

* * *

 _A little later_

Hinata watched even as Sakura worked; Naruto remained unconscious, but slowly growing stronger.

"These guys must be bad, not only destroying the arena, but Kurama conserving his chakra instead of using even a little to heal Naruto" Sakura breathed, worried but working hard to heal him. "You're going after them, aren't you."

"Yes, we will" she whispered, slowly rubbing her fingers against Naruto's hand. "Wherever they've gone with his clone, it'll be away from the village. I know that's at least part of why, so Naruto and the rest of us can fight at full power, without endangering everyone."

Sakura made a sound. "Still crazy" she breathed, a little lighter. "I hope you guys kick their asses."

"We'll do our best."

"Mom!"

A little surprised, Hinata turned and saw Himawari rush in, soon followed by Ino. "Mom" she breathed, before she caught sight of Naruto. "Dad! Is he okay?"

Sakura's voice was gentle. "It's alright, Himawari" she breathed gently, still working. "Your father will be okay, and Boruto's resting nearby."

Himawari visibly slumped in relief- Hinata touched her back and rubbed it gently, though she then looked at Ino-

-who was slightly sheepish. "Sorry about this; Himawari was frantic about finding you guys" she explained.

-she just smiled. "I understand" Hinata breathed, looking at her daughter. "Still, thank you Ino. Now you should get back, see your family."

She did after a little, though not without a worried look at Naruto.

Just then, Boruto rushed inside in a hurry- he quickly saw Himawari, then dad, and he just seemed to go shock-still. "Dad" he breathed... and then without taking his eyes off: "What happened? How is he here?"

"I went after your father" Hinata explained, a little heavier. "And things happened."

"But... but mom, even if you're as strong as dad, and I- me and Himawari didn't know, why would you do that?"

"Because he'd do the same for me, even if it meant his life. He'd do the same for any of us."

The words seemed to touch something deep inside Boruto- his expression didn't change much, but he didn't speak at all. Behind him, at least partially aware of the conversation going, Sarada and Mitsuki slowly came around the corner.

"Any of us would've gone after Naruto, if we thought we had a chance" Sakura added onto, though her gaze remained on Naruto, who still remained out of it. "He worked hard to become Hokage, to protect the people of the Hidden Leaf, just as we've all worked hard to better ourselves. He'd give his life for the village if necessary, because of that effort."

Several seconds passed in silence...

Mitsuki slowly tried to touch his teammate's shoulder. "Boruto-?"

Boruto just turned and ran off, Sarada barely getting out of his way in time- the sight of it made Hinata feel sad, but she recognized what he must be going through. Back at the arena, even if it was Katasuke's manipulation that's also at fault, Boruto had just taken the easy way out by using the Kote... and no matter what, that went against the lessons that a shinobi needed to learn.

Or something similar.

His shame was saddening, but she knew it should help... after this is over though, she knew there had to be a talk; Naruto's work had played a part, but she had some responsibility for not recognizing this trend as well.

"Boruto" Himawari tried to call, to get up- Hinata pulled her back, slowly shaking her head afterward, but then pulled her daughter close.

...

So this was the Kote... hmph.

Lifting his gaze, Sasuke watched as Boruto slowly walked away, every footstep heavy and his walk nearly limp- as if weighed down by everything that'd happened, possibly with a number of statements he'd heard since then. The boy just wearily walked toward the Hokage's office, ie the room his father operated from, entering it without a word or hesitant motion. He followed of course, waiting outside the door even as Boruto went through his self-realization journey... even if he choose to help now, this was Boruto's chance to redeem himself. Minutes passed without a word, with only occasional noises as things were moved, adjusted, or whatever is going on in there... then:

"Man, I'm... such a loser..."

A tiny little smirk, for a moment anyway.

"You've got that right" he spoke then, stepping inside - Boruto, standing in front of the mirror, only turned his head. Sasuke continued: "At the exams, everyone scorned you for cheating. You were stripped of your headband, and can't even call yourself a shinobi right now. On top of that, you've made your little sister cry, your mother worry about the path you're taking, and your father hurt himself trying to protect you."

In front of the mirror now, he briefly glanced at Boruto, who's expression hadn't changed much. "If it weren't for your sister who adores you, your mother who loves you, and your father who works hard - even too hard - while still loving you... you'd be in the same situation as Naruto. So, what are you going to do about that?"

Roughly five seconds passed before Boruto stirred. "So my dad..." he breathed, barely a whisper before his expression changed, turning around entirely. "How did he do it?"

Sasuke observed the change, inwardly approving. "So it's not just his weaknesses you're interested in" he noted, even as outside the door, he easily felt the approach of the others. "You should ask himself, when this is over. For now, your father and mother, along with myself, are going to confront those who threatened our village - I know where they are, for I can sense the chakra of Naruto's clone just as well as the real one."

Boruto glanced down, still seeming a bit down. "I don't get it, Uncle Sasuke. Why are you even bothering with me at all?"

"You're actually quite a strong shinobi" he answered evenly. "I may have lost to Naruto, but... you can become someone who surpasses him."

"But how are you even able to tell that?"

Sasuke had to prevent himself from knowingly-smirking. "Well you are his son, and my number-one student, correct?" he asked rhetorically. "And maybe even moreso, you're a worse loser than Naruto ever was."

Boruto struggled a little with that, as expected. "A loser... what does that mean...?" he asked, nearly pouting.

This time, he did smirk a little. "All I mean is that you both hate to lose."

The boy's expression was a little shocked, but in even less time, it changed to something resembling determination- Naruto's brand anyway. This he quite approved of, as finally the boy was starting to behave as he should be...

"Hey, aren't you two forgetting about the rest of us?"

Sasuke turned his head, seeing the other four Kage, who'd been there for the past few minute or so- Boruto had no idea of this though, as his shock indicated.

"If the Hokage's going, we should help out as well" Darui spoke then, following Chojuro's teasing question. "Can't let ourselves disgrace the reputation of the Five Kage by sticking this one out."

Kurotsuchi soon smirked, looking fairly excited for what's next. "Yeah, let's do it, everyone."

Boruto moved forward a bit, seeming a little awed. "Wow so cool, the Five Kage."

Gaara just closed his eyes, having a little smile even as his arms stayed crossed. "You look just like the old Naruto" he told Boruto, "I can already feel my power surging."

"Not just yet" Sasuke spoke - he wasn't surprised to hear they were going anyway, but he'd left them out on purpose, knowing how they'd react to that; it's kinda fun. "There's still something that's missing- specifically for you, Boruto."

...

 _Somewhat later_

Naruto struggled a little; after all that effort he was still somewhat weak, and Kurama couldn't afford to use any chakra to heal him. In fact right now he's struggling against the two Otsutsuki members - just hold on Kurama; they're coming. Even now though, he's still a little surprised he came up with the plan's adaption on the spot as he did... half-awake, he'd felt the chakra swirling around him, and recognized it as Hinata's Palm Rotation. And in that moment, when he didn't sense the Otsutsuki's inside it, managed to do the Shadow Clone jutsu... if it didn't work, he'd still have been captured and nothing would change, yet if they took a clone Kurama and himself would still have to resist, but they'd have an element of surprise they didn't have before.

And it'd actually worked... guess he must've miscalculated a little, because he'd thought those two would take him away much faster.

But they hadn't, and so Hinata had interfered- heh, just like her too.

Beside him, Hinata kept his body supported. "Once we ambush them, Kurama should dissipate the clone and heal you, so you'll be fine," she breathed, he nodding. "That's good. Still, this is gonna be difficult."

"Yeah."

Even as they spoke, they arrived at the top of the Hokage's office; Shikamaru was already there, though Sasuke and the other Kage had yet to show. But soon they would, and then they'd go to where the Otsutsuki members were, pinpointed by his own clone - and this time they wouldn't be holding back for fear of collateral damage/friendly fire.

Even as they waited though, Shikamaru came up to them - he glanced at him, lip curving. "Guess I'm not surprised you recovered that quickly, even by yourself" he merely said, to which Naruto just smiled. "Anyway, I've reviewed all the information you've told me, Hinata. Your plan seems quite sound; congratulations."

Hinata made a sound. "It's just a simple divide-and-conquer strategy, really" she admitted.

"Perhaps" he said easily. "But sometimes simple can be more effective than anything convoluted. And besides, there's a lot we don't know about them as well - making a lot of plans that deal with unknown variables would just weigh you down, perhaps hesitate; it's better to be decisive."

"We'll do our best, ya know" Naruto promised, holding up his fist- Shikamaru knowingly returned the gesture.

Just then, Hinata tugged at his arm, and he looked over to see the others arriving. The other four Kage, Sasuke and-

-and Boruto.

He glanced at Hinata, who returned it, feeling the same mix of emotions he did.

-once they met up, Naruto took in/let out a little breath.

"Give us a minute, will you? Shikamaru can fill you in on the plan while you wait" he asked the others. They glanced at Boruto, then nodded as they went over - except for Sasuke, who created a Shadow Clone to listen to that plan, yet otherwise stayed nearby.

...okay then.

Squeezing Hinata's hand, Naruto stepped forward a little. "Boruto... it's dangerous where we're going" he said, faint, knowing the ground between them wasn't exactly stable right now.

His son glanced down, but his expression slowly turned determined - without a word, he drew something from behind, closing his eyes as he held it up to his head...

A headband, but with a very distinctive scratch through it; Sasuke's.

...Boruto tightened the knot as he finished tying it, smirking.

Naruto nearly gasped, feeling a chill go through his body - something Hinata would later say she'd felt too, _exactly_ as he described. Combined with his old jacket (that he somehow only _just know_ realized Boruto was wearing), that determined look, Boruto looked just like he used to when younger... down to the last details, the resemblance was almost uncanny!

Kinda like looking at his own Shadow Clone...

"I'm gonna go" he said, equally determined - he even grinned, not unlike how he did.

Stunned a little, he could only look at Hinata, who shared the 'chilled' feeling... somehow they were having the same thought. They wanted him to stay where it's safe, but having seen this sight, the resolve to go and redeem himself- they just couldn't seem to say no all of a sudden. Even as he watched, Hinata's worried surprise slowly turned into a smile, and he couldn't help but return the favor... they both nodded. Even as this happened, Boruto's shoulders almost slumped a little from relief, and he looked over at Sasuke-

-who simply approved. "Now you're finally carrying yourself like a shinobi" he just said, before walking away. "Come whenever you're ready, as you have other company."

Naruto went 'Hmm?', before he noticed Sasuke was right; having also come up the path was Himawari, followed behind by Sakura - who'd clearly seen the previous scene, going by her smile - along with Sarada and Mitsuki. Boruto soon looked at them, slightly sheepish, before he gestured to his other teammates before moving toward them; he's still gonna go, but he had to assure them and everything.

Meanwhile: "Dad, mom" Himawari spoke, a little worried. "Do you have to go?"

He hesitated a bit, certain that Hinata would assure her, but his wife merely squeezed his hand without a word- because he'd been at work most of the time, this was his chance. Mentally, Naruto felt he's lucky; he knew he'd screwed up and deserved the words said to him, but Himawari had never once blamed him according to Hinata... before, or now. He smiled, feeling she's just like her mother that way, even as she'd clearly taken after him in several ways... such as her eyes (when they weren't Byakugan anyway), her smile, and even the energy.

Bending down a bit, Naruto touched her shoulders. "Yeah, we do" he said gently. "If we don't, they'll come back and put us all in danger again."

Himawari made a small sound. "But big brother's going with you" she said, a little unsure. "Could I- could I come too?"

Even without looking, he somehow felt everything Hinata was feeling; this was definitely her daughter, as well as his. "Himawari" he breathed, smiling. "Boruto's coming to redeem himself, to prove he's a shinobi. He won't fight unless he has to... and the same would be true for you too, if you came with us. We all know you're strong (he resisted the urge to touch his stomach), but these guys are much stronger, and if something happened then... I guess, what I'm asking is... do you feel like you'd be ready to put your life on the line?"

She glanced behind her slowly, looking at her brother before back at him. "No..." Himawari breathed, but looking at him without fear. "I suppose that's part of it, dad? Being a shinobi?"

He just nodded, before hugging his daughter- she quickly returned it. "Yeah, though there's a lot more to it" Naruto breathed. "But Himawari, since you aren't ready, we can't ask you to go with us. But that'll make us feel better, because we know you're safe here... just promise us something."

"Anything."

"Cheer for us in spirit, okay?"

Pulling back from him, Himawari just gave him a big smile, nodding several times - by then, Hinata had come forward, hugging them both in a three-way for a little. Once they all pulled apart, Boruto had joined them for real, standing beside his sister- all eyes seemed to turn to the two of them.

"Boruto" Naruto breathed, slowly rubbing the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, for everything. I- from now on-"

"It was fine as it was" Boruto said a little quickly, to some surprise - however, his expression seemed better, and he was smiling a bit. "But dad, when you can manage to be around, when you're not lecturing... I want to hear stories about your past" he continued, before glancing at his sister. "And if you can manage it, tell us both."

Himawari soon smiled, nodding.

"Heh" he breathed, knowing he owed them that much. "Sure thing."

Hinata put her hand on his shoulder. "I'll have my own stories to tell, which I'm sure you'll want to hear too" she breathed gently, their children a little more excited at that. "After all, I think we owe you that much, including about how we obtained our powers."

"Yeah" Boruto said, nodding. "Definitely mom."

"You'll be sure to tell me all the details, big brother?" Himawari asked Boruto, hands up in some excitement. "Right? After everything's done?"

"Hehe, yeah of course."

Naruto just smiled, feeling Hinata lean against him, already doing the same herself- they'd made some mistakes, him in particular, but overall their children had grown well. Still had a long ways to go, but they were a good bunch... yet for now, they still had a big problem to take care of...

"Come on, Boruto" Naruto breathed, his son nodding - Himawari waved after them, not exactly happy as before, but clearly hoping/helping them in spirit already.

Back to the others then-

"Took you long enough" Sasuke mused. "Anyway, everyone knows the plan."

They all nodded: it was simple divide-and-conquer - if possible they would capture them, but if/when it came down to it, they were to be taken out without hesitation. Due to their Byakugan and the chakra seeds they carried, genjutsu was highly impractical, which Kurotsuchi had almost sulked upon - and moreover Momoshiki had his Rinnegan, meaning they couldn't use ninjutsu on him (including Truth-Seeking Balls, on his and Hinata's part). Dividing them was necessary, not only to make them easier to handle but also to avoid anything drastic happening (if at all possible), though there might be more they didn't know. At the same time they had the advantage, as despite Kinshiki's skill at hand-to-hand combat, Momoshiki's personality and behaviors meant it's extremely likely he didn't bother with such 'trivial' concerns much... so it wouldn't be his strong point.

And in their favor, they were all fairly skilled at taijutsu and/or kenjutsu.

Sasuke opened his Rinnegan, which formed the purple-black portal beside them - one-by-one they all entered into it. The portal stuck around for a bit after that, but unknown to their group they were secretly followed...

* * *

 _Momoshiki's dimension_

The world was desolate, sky perpetually kept in the dark under thick cloud cover; even the God Tree of the planet had long since withered. And yet as brown as the surrounding landscape was, a tiny light could be seen near it's base, as were three lifeforms... one bound and the other two floating...

Naruto yelled even as Momoshiki tried to absorb Kurama's chakra- however, frustration crossed the latter's face. "This is taking way too long" he said, stopping his attempt for the moment, and for a few seconds only Naruto's panting could be heard...

Until he started laughing.

"Hmm?" Momoshiki breathed, irritated, even as Kinshiki moved a bit. "Wait, this laughter... could it be the demon fox?"

 _"Hehehehe. You two, thinking yourselves so above everyone."_

Neither of them so much as stirred as Naruto lifted his head - his eyes were red, and his whisker markings had thickened.

 _"And yet,"_ Kurama spoke through him, grinning. _"you fall for one of the oldest tricks in the book. Pathetic."_

 _Poof_

Barely did they react to this development before quickly looking up; they had incoming.

Gaara was first: "Let's do this!"

Quick as bullets, sand shot through the air, many where the two Otsutsuki had been before they _just_ managed to dodge. And still more sand flowed, forming platforms for Gaara himself, Darui, and Naruto (Boruto in his grip) to land upon, all around the floating Momoshiki - even as this happened, Chojuro, Kurotsuchi, Sasuke, and Hinata all nimbly landed upon the ground, surrounding Kinshiki.

The Five Kage spoke in unison: "Don't think you can get away from us!"

Momoshiki was dismissive as expected. "You vulgar creatures" he spoke, raising his left Rinnegan, which glowed-

-boom.

...

"Whatever happens, make sure to stay away" Naruto said intently. "You're no match up-close."

Boruto just nodded, digging into his pouch. "Then I just bend my attacks" he said easily, smirking a little - Naruto thought this had to do with Sasuke being his teacher, as he was a master at shruikenjutsu.

Even as they quickly spoke, the battle had already started: Gaara was forming a 'ceiling' of sand whenever Momoshiki tried to get higher, and his platforms moved everywhere as they pursued him. When Darui got in close, Momoshiki was forced to defend himself with a chakra receiver, but always he fought to get some distance- after a bit though, he managed to push Darui away, just in time to turn toward Gaara (who'd launched a sand bullet).

Momoshiki tried to absorb it with his right Rinnegan-

-and failed miserably, as the sand bullet raked across his palm - it was hard to tell if he inflicted lasting damage, or if said damage was healed by his constantly-flowing chakra, yet still.

"My sand is beyond your Rinnegan's power" Gaara told him, coming in fast. "It will harm you no matter how strong you are."

His opponent was scowling, but still tried to stab Gaara; the sand protected him without a second thought, and even more coated Gaara's arms and legs. The two of them sparred a bit, then Gaara shoved Momoshiki downward... and Naruto was there, throwing a well-aimed kick, forcing him to defend with his chakra receiver. Then Darui blind-sided him, and still Momoshiki tried to get room to blast them, or even just escape their relentless pursuit- they didn't allow it one bit.

"Your kind is nothing" he called, about to aim his left Rinnegan... but at the last moment, due to his feet having been pulled by the sand, his attack wildly missed. Before he could recover, Gaara was there drop-kicking him, Momoshiki barely just managed to stop Darui from cutting him with his sword, but he was forced to pull back as Naruto closed in - together they pursued him, while the two of them heard a shruiken fly through the air; Naruto just grinned a little. Momoshiki saw it coming too, and got well out of it's way... but he didn't expect a second one to impact it, turning back straight toward him.

He still dodged it of course, but it left him wide open to more blows.

Pausing a bit, letting Darui and Gaara pursue Momoshiki, Naruto flashed a thumbs-up and a grin to Boruto.

...

Hinata moved fast, ducking underneath Kinshiki's blow before she struck at the points around his right leg; his chakra levels almost immediately re-opened the the points, but it caused a momentary falter in his step. Sasuke immediately took advantage by attacking from the right side, forcing his sword against Kinshiki's created ones- Hinata meanwhile slammed her Vacuum Palm straight into his chest while he was distracted, right toward Chujuro and Kurotsuchi. He recovered quickly, swinging at the two (who deftly dodged) - Kurotsuchi even caught the blade between her bare hands, twisting his arm when she pulled it into an unfavorable position for him. Chojuro used that opportunity to slam a shock-wave at Kinshiki, who was unable to dodge (Kurotsuchi bent underneath it) - it was unclear how much damage he took, but it threw him away a good distance.

Sasuke was the first after him; Hinata quickly moved over to the others.

"He isn't losing stamina" she said quickly. "We need to trap him quickly."

As she quickly explained her plan, Sasuke kept Kinshiki busy, particularly once he noted their standing together- no matter how he had to do it, he managed to keep up for about a minute. Chojuro came in then and created another sword shock-wave, which Kinshiki dodged by jumping high into the air, and Sasuke ducked under; the strike itself cut through the roots with ease. Kinshiki soon attacked the man, while Hinata quickly went over toward Sasuke, explaining the basics... and all the while, Chojuro dueled Kinshiki himself, though all his movements were intentionally retreating, only feigning difficulty. Still they moved together, slashing through the God tree's roots before Kinshiki pushed him against a branch, managing to strike down Chojuro's sword, then a quick upward slash got him.

"You're cornered!" Kinshiki rumbled, raising his weapon.

Chojuro smirked- his cut was bleeding but the wound was shallow, which was all he'd allowed to happen. "Speak for yourself" he snarked.

Even as he spoke, the ground directly between them shifted and morphed, forming a mound as large as either of them. Kinshiki barely had enough time to utter "You impudent-!" before Kurotsuchi struck, the force of her punch sending him flying far upward. Kurotsuchi moved sideways, preparing hand signs while Chojuro just prepared his Hiramekarei, from which he produced a clone of. A distance away, Hinata was already forming hand signs herself, mouthing the jutsu to herself. Back up in the sky, Kinshiki struggled to regain control but before he could even halfway do so, Sasuke was there with his sword coated in Inferno-style flames- Kinshiki managed to avoid harm, but the strike finally broke his weapon, sending him to the ground.

Immediately, extremely-sharp blades of chakra appeared from nowhere, wrapping around Kinshiki from head-to-toe- if he struggled, they cut into his skin. _"Protecting Eight Trigrams, complete!"_ Hinata mentally finished.

And that wasn't all; just as she spoke, multiple knife-like constructs slammed into Kinshiki, piercing his arms, his legs, and most into his torso. Some, not all, had been aimed so precisely that they interfered with several chakra points, further restricting what he could do from then on.

 _"Bone Mutilation!"_ Chojuro had called, dual-wielding his Hiramekarei-

-and just as he finished, Kurotsuchi followed it up - from her mouth, she spewed her distinctive kekkai genkai, which formed around her Protective Eight Trigrams and Chojuro's Bone Mutilation knives as if they weren't there. _"Lava Style: Ash Seal!"_

Even as Kinshiki struggled near-helplessly, Hinata looked up at Sasuke. "We'll hold him here! Help Naruto!" she said intently- with a nod, he soon moved away with a blur.

...

Under Gaara's gesture, his sand soon formed another 'ceiling' that forced Momoshiki downward- Darui ran across it like stepping stones, before jumping down through a gap, closing with Momoshiki and forcing him on the defensive with his vastly-superior skill, Gaara's sand providing platforms as he needed. Naruto followed them for a bit before he saw an opening; as Darui forced Momoshiki's chakra receiver upward (to block an overhand strike), Naruto managed to get behind him... the result was kinda mixed, as Momoshiki had sensed him coming. So yeah, he had to defend himself from the chakra receiver as well and had to block that with his forearm, with the impact hurting but on the other hand he'd managed to graze Momoshiki's face with his fist. Darui soon followed up with a more backhanded blow, which hit Momoshiki's shoulder even harder as he fled, and then in his haste almost ran smack-dab into Gaara's wall of sand.

Soon enough, the three of them were converging from three different directions, with their target trying to take the only one left to him-

-except not; Momoshiki skid to a halt, chakra receiver straining against Sasuke's sword, with the latter pushing him away. The rest of them surrounded him, ready to continue fighting and make sure he couldn't escape.

"Well!?" Momoshiki demanded, looking around at all of them- he seemed unnerved. "Where are your pitiful attempts at jutsu!?"

Naruto crossed his arms, smirking. "What do you take us for? Idiots?" he said easily.

"We're not falling for that trick" came from Sasuke.

Darui hefted his own sword, just a bit over his shoulder. "As if we'd do anything you say anyway."

"Taijutsu is your weakness" Gaara finished, arms crossed. "A simple thing to exploit."

Momoshiki actually began to shake, very slightly, his scowl an ugly thing entirely- if Naruto saw that correctly, he was actually intimated. Still, even when he went head-to-head with Sasuke - more of a brief meeting than any exchange of blows - he seemed to do so out of slight desperation, as if looking for a way he could overpower them.

Well, it's not like-

Subtly, a sound like something tremendous had just crashed - they all adjusted somewhat, except for Momoshiki. Then the rest of them tensed, and instantly they jumped away as glowing weapons slashed through the tree roots- Momoshiki merely jumped two feet to avoid them, Kinshiki coming to his side-

-and swung his weapon in an arc, slicing through the God Tree like it was paper.

The tremendous din it created was like an entire village had been destroyed, and they all tried to protect themselves from the shock-waves. Naruto barely managed to see Boruto crouched deep behind a thick tree root, yet he still felt the impact- but as long as he's safe. Not too soon afterward, he saw Hinata along with Chojuro and Kurotsuchi a little farther away, though they each looked like they'd recently taken a blow. Then he looked toward their enemies- yikes, Kinshiki looked like he'd been through _hell_. The big guy's clothes had been torn all over, and cuts perforated almost every part of his skin... which horrifyingly, parts had been torn right off, revealing the muscles and tendons underneath, blood dripping from almost everywhere.

He knew that couldn't have been from the others' attacks; they'd just been trying to restrain him.

Even as he pondered this, the realm's even-deader God Tree fell with an equally-loud din, clouds of dust rising from impact. Standing/floating above it's trunk, Kinshiki looked completely unsteady upon his feet, saying something, while Momoshiki lifted his right Rinnegan with what seemed to be an angry expression on his face.

"Don't think I would!"

His Rinnegan activated, pulling Kinshiki up - screaming the entire way - and- and turned him into a chakra fruit!? Without even a moment's hesitation, Momoshiki further upped the shock (and disgust) when he ate into what remained of his former partner- gah, that's completely disgusting! But what happened next didn't let them focus on the disgust; eating his partner's chakra fruit caused drastic changes in Momoshiki, who's pale skin turned to something resembling a darker-red all of a sudden, along with a number of smaller things like fangs, claws, even a pointed chin. More than that though, even from this distance they could tell he'd grown much larger than before, now at least a good four feet taller than all of them- and unless he was mistaken, he'd awakened a third Rinnegan on his forehead, not unlike Kaguya's 'third eye' thing.

 _"And this guy calls_ us _creatures"_ Kurama groused, equally disturbed- Naruto couldn't disagree for the life of him.

Just then, Momoshik pretty much roared- the force of which slammed into them like gale-force winds. They had to dig into whatever was available to hold their ground, but even that gave a pretty clear indicator of his new power... and he'd been strong before...

* * *

 **This way managed to give Himawari a somewhat-bigger part and more focus... I admit I was tempted to bring her along too, but pretty sure that'd have been pushing it hehe. That little girl's strong and definitely has potential, but she isn't even in the Academy yet while her brother had to come because of plot- but it is what it is XD** **Meanwhile, I definitely made Kinshiki stronger in addition to Momoshiki - even with his movie fate, and despite suffering a worse severity of those injuries, he 'has' to be stronger to break free not just from Chojuro/Kurotsuchi, but a Tenseigan-infused Hinata. And as a result of his increased strength, Momoshiki now has that in addition...**

 **Regarding cutting the second chapter off here, it's pretty much for length, as the rest of the battle is as long as the first chapter (lol)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** Don't own the Naruto franchise, nor any of it's characters.

 **Rating:** T

 **Enjoy ;)**

* * *

That had to be one of the _most disgusting_ things ever- Hinata wished she could scrub that sight out of her head. As it was, she immediately knew they were in even-bigger trouble; absorbing Kinshiki had given Momoshiki the sum of his chakra, and it'd been formidable as a single entity, even now ready to heal any damage he received. If they'd known this beforehand, they probably would've killed one or the other to prevent this from happening... but now there's no choice. Momoshiki had become super-empowered, his Byakugan activated by his power boost - no bulging veins, for some reason - and the only ones capable of surviving a battle against him had to be supernaturally fast, strong, _and_ insanely durable, all on or near the level of Six Paths.

So when Naruto and Sasuke stepped forward, none of the other Kage tried to follow.

Hinata took in a breath, stepping forward as well- she passed by Boruto, who almost made as if to ask what she's doing. She merely shook her head, smiling - she didn't know that she'd escape the coming fight completely unscratched, but she could handle this, and projected that same confidence to her son. In addition, she directed a glance at Gaara, gesturing a bit to Boruto- he showed his understanding with a nod, knowing he and the other Kage would do everything to protect him. Herself, Naruto, and Sasuke would do everything they could too, but that'd be a weight off her chest, as she knew it would be to her husband - but she could still feel Boruto's gaze on her even without the Tenseigan.

Soon she was walking behind Naruto and Sasuke, just in-between as well.

The latter went 'Hmph', undoing his cloak with his prosthetic left arm. "It's like I'm looking at the old me" he said, almost rueful.

"Seriously" Naruto breathed in mild agreement - his form lit up via his Six Paths Sage Mode as they stopped.

Taking a breath, Hinata held her fingers together. "But it doesn't matter what he throws at us" she said, before in an instant, she was clad in the warm cyan-colored Tenseigan Chakra Mode - mentally, she knew this opponent had to be shown no mercy.

"Hinata, Sasuke" Naruto breathed, clasping his fists together. "Let's kick his butt!"

"Right!"

In an instant, the three of them and Momoshiki moved - the shock-wave disturbed the _entire trunk_ of the God Tree, kicking up a massive mountain of rock behind it, and leaving streaks where the speed ripped through below. Because Naruto and Sasuke had been ahead of her, they'd thrown the first punches, Momoshiki catching them with a single palm each- he'd only just began to grin and push back, but then she came in from above. Naturally their enemy ducked, and she landed on the ground directly behind as expected: she crouched low to the ground, and with a yell rapid-fire hit the backs of his legs via at-least-fifty strikes, disrupting the tendons _and_ chakra points there. Momoshiki could barely react, because as soon as he registered the attack and (tried to) turn toward her - resulting in his legs wobbling from her efforts - Naruto and Sasuke both struck him in the face with their free hands.

The force sent him flying, skidding end-over-end as he tried to stop himself, Hinata anchoring herself so that she wasn't pulled along with him - in that split-second, she saw that the damage was already healing, wasting chakra but it wasn't enough. The more he wastes the better, but clearly it had to be achieved by more forceful methods, and so that's exactly what she's gonna do.

All three of them sped forward as a team; words weren't necessary.

Sasuke struck first with a body blow, but even as Momoshiki recovered quickly, Naruto was there sparring with him- he only managed a few glancing blows before he was knocked away. At the same time, using that distraction to get behind, Hinata struck along the length of his spine with a single powerful blow, the force of which rippled through his body _and_ the air- Momoshiki roared and tried to backhand her with his entire arm, but she bent herself backward, hooking her foot against his leg and making them both fall. He still retained his senses though, and his back-handing arm continued on it's arc... or it would've if Sasuke hadn't kicked him away in mid-fall, the arm then narrowly missing. Even as she quickly stood back up, Sasuke pursued Momoshiki and Naruto followed him - she only saw the tail end, as while Sasuke defended himself well, Momoshiki landed a punch that knocked him away.

Knowing he'd be back, Hinata raced forward- Naruto had used that attack to cling his entire body to Momoshiki's arm, refusing to let go. Before he could think to attack her husband, she was there, grabbing his other arm and twisting it behind his back... before anything else, Momoshiki then had to contend with Sasuke reappearing, futilely struggling. The moment Sasuke collided with him - hanging onto Momoshiki's leg - Naruto got off immediately and Hinata threw Momoshiki away via the arm she held, only adding to the momentum of Sasuke's attack and causing them to spin uncontrollably. Even as they ran forward, Sasuke drew his sword and intended to stab Momoshiki, but the latter managed to kick his arm even as they were rolling-

Without a cursory glance or hitch in his stride, Naruto grabbed Sasuke's sword for himself.

-and just as he would've slashed Momoshiki, in addition to her double-fisted blow, both attacks impacted one of Kinshiki's weapon creations; no surprise there. That one and many more appeared almost in the blink of an eye, all falling like knives - Hinata saw exactly where each would fall in her vision, and just as nimbly as Naruto navigated the falling weapons. Her husband pulled ahead of her and fought off Momoshiki with Sasuke's sword - Sasuke himself approaching behind her - while Hinata jumped a little and, in mid-air, grasped a broadsword with both hands before nimbly landing. Even as Naruto blocked one sword, she slammed the full weight of her borrowed weapon against Momoshiki's other one- the impact jarred her arm (like she'd hit a wall), but as _soon_ as the stroke was concluded, she let go with both hands and continued moving past him purely by gravitational forces. Even as the weapon fell and Momoshiki's arm moved forward due to sudden lack of resistance, she grabbed his wrist with both hands and _twisted_ -

-it worked, as the outright crunch and Momoshiki's pained roar attested to. With her own strength and her momentum pulling him in the opposite direction, it'd also unnaturally bent his elbow, yet it hadn't seemed to break. But on the flip side, he still had enough sense to quickly/instinctively move his arm forward, and his forearm collided with her face. It felt like a train had hit her, and she was sent spinning for a time; during that span she registered what happened afterward, but only the gist because of recovery.

Naruto, despite worried over her being hit, took advantage of this and kicked at Momoshiki's other arm hard, forcing him to drop the other weapon. Momoshiki still prepared to hit him with his other fist - chakra forcibly repairing the damage, taking quite a lot - but then Sasuke was there, kicking his arm aside and forcing him backward. And then in a whirl of speed, Sasuke spun around and - his boot trailing fire - developed a powerful kick to Momoshiki's jaw, sending him skyward. Naruto immediately flew up, tossing the sword at Sasuke, who paused only long enough to grab it before he too jumped up high - from a short distance away, Hinata saw all this and what they intended to do, and flew up herself.

Momoshiki was still reeling from the blow- before he could recover, Naruto slugged him across the face, and he impacted the small mountain of stone. Yet before he'd even gone far, Sasuke landed an equal kick upon his jaw from the opposite direction, momentum sending him smack dab into a corner of the fallen God Tree- the impact just tore that section right off. Hinata was there and, yelling, slammed her palm straight into Momoshiki's gut (read: his chakra network), which send him spiraling downward. Naruto was exactly along the path she'd aimed, kicking Momoshiki back up just as he recovered from her blow (wasting tremendous amounts of chakra to prevent his network from shutting down _period_ , plus the damage it'd inflicted), then Sasuke body-slammed him back toward the small mountain of stone. Hinata was ready for that too; as soon as he got close, she'd slammed into his gut from the opposite direction, spinning in a pseudo-Tunneling Fang fashion to increase her power and sending Momoshiki into the rock.

Together now, they descended through the new space, each of them preparing to strike him simultaneously-

It didn't work out.

-soon as they got close, energy chains spontaneously slammed into her and Sasuke's stomachs, pulling them in the opposite direction for a short time before going at a right-angle. The impact hit them both hard, to the level that she almost got nauseous even, but moreover the force threw them both through the mountain... and in her spinning vision, she only just barely registered Momoshiki dodging Naruto's attack, who he hadn't chained. After that, the mountain gave way and suddenly they were rolling across wood; the trunk of the dead God Tree, but they were soon separated and rolling in two different-yet-similar directions. By that point, Hinata had just managed to regain control of her stomach and her momentum, slicing through the chains with ease... yet that same instant, she saw the small mountain of stone; Momoshiki had turned it into lava to keep Naruto busy, only just able to make out his chakra within it.

Her teeth gritted.

When she sprang up, Sasuke did as well from the opposite side - together they ran toward Momoshiki, who was ready for them. In an instant, her vision registered the trunk around them distorting, twisting, growing... working just as quickly, Hinata took up her stance as she ran, chakra cloak growing razor-sharp to easily slice through. The wood growths soon turned into spikes, each seeking to impale her or force her off-course into ones that would, but she didn't stop, spinning and slicing through each one in her way! Sasuke did the same off to her right, his Sharingan able to see the growths and where they'd come from just as easily as her Byakugan, slicing through spikes with his sword or dodging the rest.

Yet just as they got halfway, the ground itself coiled around their feet; encased them in it actually, forcing them to a stop.

Hinata tried to break free, but before she could make any headway, the wood of the God Tree took on shapes even faster than the spikes; something with dragon's heads. Having only enough time to react, she just managed to block before the creations roared and struck her high into the sky- in her vision, she saw the same happen with Sasuke despite a Lightning-style defense, and numerous rocks soon rose toward him. Hinata was about to angle herself downward, but before she could her entire body went rigid; the temperature dropped incredibly fast, and the air had suddenly turned biting cold, even despite her chakra cloak! In her vision, she literally saw the air itself freezing solid - in desperation she put her chakra into Almighty Push, a complete sphere around her instead of the usual application; it just barely saved her.

If seen from the outside, she was in the middle of a giant, absolute-zero block of ice; only her jutsu kept her from being crushed. Meanwhile her chakra cloak blazed, trying to keep the cold from killing her... it didn't entirely succeed, and Hinata cried out as her skin started forming frostbite, particularly on her legs and torso!

Only later would she remember this was because he wanted her eyes intact; the effect was lesser up there.

Something cracked loudly; the ice was still trying to crush her - even despite the pain, Hinata forced her going-numb limbs to force Almighty Push outward. It resisted, something so densely formed it was like trying to push a mountain with her bare hands... but eventually something gave, and the entire thing collapsed outward in pieces. She gave a great gasp as her chakra cloak, suddenly no longer fighting the cold, felt much hotter than anything she'd ever experienced- the feeling on her frostbite was almost unbearable. Her vision was still unaffected, being able to see Sasuke some distance away - he looked like he'd had trouble, seeming burned - but her limbs were barely to move at all, and flying was purely instinctive at this point.

Momoshiki was probably grinning, even laughing... but then that all changed, as from the depths of the lava Kurama himself emerged. His entire Tailed Beast Mode was steaming, hissing from contact of the cooler air yet his teeth were bared, flying toward them... without preamble both she and Sasuke were easily brought in until they resided within his head.

Naruto was there, a hand on both of their shoulders, shaking even.

"Naruto" Hinata breathed- despite her shaking limbs, she's just glad he's okay - that warmth overtook even Kurama's chakra healing her. He was clearly glad too, but his teeth were gritted at Momoshiki hurting them, angry... she only just registered he had his own burn marks, barely visible now and soon vanishing, much like Sasuke's began to.

Speaking for them all, Kurama roared his challenge as he turned in mid-air, ready to fight Momoshiki himself.

The latter didn't waste time: dozens of the same Wood-style dragon heads sprouted from the God Tree below him, all growling as they gripped various parts of his body. They were too fast for him to grip in mid-flight, but as soon as they pulled him down to the ground, teeth gritted, Kurama took up most of them and _pulled_ \- their frames were unable to withstand his strength, and many snapped with cracks that could be heard a mile away. Yetas he struggled, fire erupted nearby and a phoenix appeared, cawing as it launched itself at Kurama's head; he was ready, reaching out and grabbing it by the base of it's wings. Even as they fought, more wood dragons sprouted from the two still attached to his body _and_ the God Tree, biting and snapping at his torso as they sought to cause him pain.

They were mistaken - as soon as this registered, Kurama yelled and smashed the phoenix's body upon the remaining wood dragons. Many caught fire in an instant, particularly after the second hit, and then he ripped the phoenix's wings straight off-

-but no sooner had he done so then a giant ice snake formed, curling at rapid speed around his body and restraining his arms/tails.

Inside, Naruto was about to help Kurama, but he paused when Hinata touched a hand to his shoulder- she smiled, nodding. He soon grinned a little, and with Sasuke starting to rise again, they were ready to stop whatever Momoshiki threw at them.

By this time, the ice snake had wrapped itself around Kurama's head too, holding him in place by sheer weight. Suddenly however, it's entire form began to shiver and Kurama increased his struggling, even as from the inside a cyan glow began to light them up - suddenly, explosively, Kurama shattered the ice snake, sheer heat radiating off his form as he roared again. He was mostly unchanged, but the Six Paths markings' black color had been overtaken by a cyan glow, and his movements were considerably faster than before. Yet Momoshiki wasn't done, for even as this happened another creation was being made, this time out of what seemed to be pure lightning - shortly afterward Sasuke had fully recovered, hand on Naruto's opposite shoulder.

Directly from overhead, a lightning hellhound roared down and bit upon Kurama's neck, even as even more wood dragons fought to bite him from the front _and_ another fiery phoenix started to form from behind. Growling, more irritated than anything, Kurama grabbed the hellhound by it's neck and pried it off his own - immediately afterward, Kurama became encased in Sasuke's Susanoo from his legs up, increasing his chakra levels even higher, and the heat of her cyan boost passed straight through it. The hellhound thrashed and struggled as the armor formed, and yet it couldn't stop the point-black Tailed Beast Bomb Rasenshuriken from obliterating it, too far away from and too fast for Momoshiki to absorb. The wood dragons still tried to restrain Kurama, but her cyan upgrade kept radiating heat to a degree surpassed only by Amaterasu, and most only lasted seconds before they burst into flames- those faced with the Susanoo armor just dissolved instantly.

At near the same time, the phoenix's claws harmlessly skated off the Susanoo's back armor - without a look in it's direction, Kurama's nine tails all grabbed the creature before it could react, pulling hard. And _still_ Momoshiki kept working; yet another creation was being formed as the second phoenix was ripped apart, using the Lava-style but they were ready for that. His latest creation was soon revealed as a giant golem, which rumbled as it slowly - too slowly - tried to hit them with it's fist. Snorting, Kurama held up a claw and formed the Susanoo's katana... he instantly gripped it in a ready stance, but only when his foe was near did he grip it in both hands, ducking underneath the golem's arm.

The sword glowed; it became infused with concentrated golden chakra, shaped around the sword to form a variant three-quarters larger than it's normal size. Faster than the naked eye could follow - faster than Momoshiki could physically react - Kurama swung the sword with all his might, slicing through the golem's midsection.

The impact was devastating; it created a shock-wave that not only pulverized the creature, but tore through the land in the swing's path, carving destruction for at least hundreds of feet if not more. Even sections of the God Tree were torn right off, the Lava-style innards of the golem being disintegrated from the inside-out, just narrowly missing Momoshiki himself. Just like that, supporting each other, Hinata 'fell' along with Naruto and Sasuke, Kurama's form as well as their enhancements fading away. The three of them knew Momoshiki was still alive, but after pouring so much chakra into such elemental creatures, he was no longer a threat to them all like this- frankly it's amazing he was still conscious, let alone alive.

Must be those chakra fruits; probably enhanced endurance too.

They landed down some distance away from the downed God Tree; the other Kage were already there. Hinata looked around, and Boruto was nearby as well, still looking as if his mind's on what he'd seen... heh, she knew his questions were gonna need to be answered _even more_ , when this is over.

But before anyone could say a word, let alone start to try and capture Momoshiki, multiple explosion-like sounds rippled through the air- they all quickly turned.

A sheer mass of jutsu - all styles, all ninjutsu type - had been launched from a point away, aimed at the figure of Momoshiki! They seemed to explode, but not a second later they were clearly absorbed, including Shikamaru's shadow jutsu - it quickly became clear exactly who was responsible, for only the Kote could've done such a thing.

Darui said exactly what they were all thinking: "Those idiots, interfering again" he groused, in that distinctive bored way.

"You're fools, but you have my thanks" Momoshiki projected, back to his old self just before he blasted them all. They barely had any time to react; by the time she infused her chakra, she felt the warmth of Kurama's chakra coat her, which helped blunt the blast (as did Gaara's sand). Even still, while she knew they'd be all be fine, she was far more worried about Boruto! Throughout all the explosions and hard knocks though, she saw him; running along before Sasuke grabbed him and coated them both in his Susanno, which helped her state-of-mind. Over all this, Momoshiki's deranged laughter again rang, which sickened her even as the smoke slowly settled-

-but before they could react much beyond that, suddenly she found herself unable to move; Shikamaru's Shadow Field Jutsu, absorbed from the Kote. Just like her, Naruto and the other four Kage were similarly bound by it - truly not good, as Momoshiki had both the chakra and the power to hold them all, even if not at full capacity!

"What a nice ability ability" Momoshiki spoke from his perch on the God Tree's trunk- even as she struggled, he seemed to make something.

Hinata nearly cried out as did Naruto; quickly as anything, he'd impaled several chakra receivers into various parts of their bodies- nonlethal, but still _stung_ like hell.

"I'll be careful with you two; I must have the demon fox, and those lovely eyes" Momoshiki continued, lowering his right hand and raising the left, forming a Lightning-style Jutsu. "But the others are nuisances."

...

Naruto cursed mentally; they had to do something and quickly! But with these chakra receivers _and_ Shikamaru's jutsu keeping them bound, neither he nor Hinata, or the other Kage could escape in time to overcome it... Sasuke, you better attack in the nick of time like usual...

Beside him, Hinata equally struggled, her expression pained as she grasped a chakra receiver; seeing her hurt only made him angrier.

Then he saw them; off to the right side of Momoshiki, Sasuke held Boruto inside his Susanoo ribs - if Momoshiki saw them, he didn't acknowledge them whatsoever. Then Boruto held his hands together and- wait...

"T-The Rasengan!?" he breathed, disbelieving - beside him, Hinata also gasped in apparent wonder.

"Let's go!"

Boruto threw his Rasengan straight at Momoshiki, and it even held together after being thrown! Only then, as if it was a distracting fly, Momoshiki turned to look and raised his right arm, intending to absorb the jutsu... yet after getting two-thirds of the way in it disappeared entirely, much to their sounds. Boruto seemed to gulp while Sasuke was impassive, so having shared a glance with Hinata, they both thought there's something more to this. Momoshiki himself just lowered his hand, turning his attention back to them, about ready to try and kill the other four Kage- before he could, his shoulder exploded with enough force to send him sprawling, not really damaged but his clothes there were torn to bits.

The Shadow Field Jutsu was instantly dissipated, and they could move again- Naruto gripped a chakra receiver, still shaking a bit from having it in his body, but he's prepared to pull it out and heal himself. Even before he tried though, Hinata was faster, as with yelps she'd already pulled hers out- she bled a bunch, but most of it was staunched the moment she applied Yin-Yang style upon herself, healing the wounds faster than her chakra would've. He smiled a little in relief, waiting a bit even as she tentatively made her way over, as her body was just adjusting to it being suddenly unharmed. Removing the receivers one-by-one and healing them still hurt, but he was glad to have her help... what with the chakra he'd expended at the arena and here, he's a little wiped now.

Going into his Six Paths Sage Mode was still doable, but not to any level he could safely fight Momoshiki with anymore- certainly not an extended one. He had the chakra to do it with, but Momoshik's power and speed made it risky, especially alone - if he had no other choice, of course he would anyway, but they still needed to try and find another way if possible.

Meanwhile, while Momoshiki still seemed to be registering what happened, Boruto and Sasuke jumped down in front of them. "When did you learn the Rasengan!?" he asked, a bit flabbergasted. "Do you know how hard it is to perfect?"

Boruto was a bit sheepish but had a little grin- still tending to him (and able to see Momoshiki in her vision), Hinata saw this and soon smiled herself.

"His Rasengan adds a sudden change-in-chakra-nature" Sasuke spoke, seeming almost approving. "Then it disappears."

Naruto slowly let out a breath, still kinda shocked but what can he say _right now_? "I-I see."

"Boruto, do it again."

Boruto half-turned, worried. "Really? But my Rasengan's..."

"Do as Sasuke says. He's your sensei" he said gently, and his son slowly agreed. He also noted Momoshiki seemed angry now, and that he had even more chakra seeds with him - he didn't need his Six Paths Sage Mode to tell he was getting stronger, and soon he'd probably attack them.

With nothing more than a glance, he caught Hinata and Sasuke's gaze before gesturing to Momoshiki. They soon nodded, Hinata having finished her healing on his body... Boruto seemed unsure, but Naruto gently held his hand out, touching it underneath. Because the jutsu was already formed, Boruto having already taken on it's drain for himself; adding more chakra was easy, and wouldn't add any more exhaustion just by transferring. So with a rush for both of them, he added his own chakra to the Rasengan and helped it flow. His son had come to prove himself a shinobi, and now he'd have his chance - but if it didn't kill Momoshiki, he knew he'd need the rest of Kurama's chakra, and the help of everyone involved.

He was already thinking up the basics of such plans, but he trusted them all; no matter who distracted or dealt the finishing blow, he could count them all.

He looked at his son with pride, Hinata doing the same as well - she even added her own hand, pouring in some of her own chakra (not nearly as much as his, but enough to be appreciated). All this as the Rasengan surged, growing in size from palm-size to person-sized, and finally to one-and-a-half house-sized... Boruto had to keep his hand high up at the end, and he stared at it with awed wonder. Then he looked at him, and Naruto just nodded- his son almost had tears for a moment but then they faded, replaced by sheer determination to win. "I don't feel like losing" Boruto said, looking at Momoshiki - the latter said something, and then he made a Rasengan lookalike of equal size, clearly prepared to meet it head-on.

...

"We've only got one chance" Sasuke said to her, keeping his eyes on their opponent, sword ready for use.

Hinata nodded, again forming the Tenseigan Chakra Mode - the three of them might be able to match Momoshiki like this, but it would take all their effort, and could result in injuries or even death if they weren't extremely lucky. With their chakra levels considerably drained, they no longer had the means to safely capture a full-power Momoshiki, so they no longer had a choice either.

Those idiots had seen to that... they had to get this right, or she'd personally shut down their chakra networks, _permanently_.

"Let's go!"

"Right!"

Together, she and Sasuke charged toward Momoshiki, going up the path of the torn roots- Momoshiki of course tried to blast them. He did so with several dark, round objects, and with a slight shock she wondered if they were Truth-Seeking Balls... but she couldn't be sure, nor could she stop to find out.

Just as they got close, Hinata formed several hand signs, even as they both entered an impacted cloud of dust-

-Sasuke emerged alone, having jumped high above but holding both swords - with an effort, he threw one straight at Momoshiki. He of course ducked underneath, and the sword buried itself in the wood... but then in an instant, Sasuke switched places with the sword, preparing to swing the other one. This wasn't doable as Momoshiki had still seen this happen, backhanding him away... however, Sasuke wasn't entirely unprepared; as the dust cleared, it was revealed he'd blunted both impacts with Susanno, though the ribs were severely cracked. He shifted a bit inside his impacted hollow, grunting as he tried to sit up more - "Ow" he said flatly.

All the while, the sword he'd switched places with continued to arc through the air, until-

 _Poof_

-Momoshiki reacted, and Hinata bore straight toward him, chakra cloak flaring brightly as he turned. With a grunt, he tried to reach for her with his right arm, to grasp her and hold her down... Hinata had to wait until the absolute last second, but once it came she moved quickly. She poured nearly everything she had into one hand, focusing the cloak there while the rest dimmed in proportion- with a yell, she stabbed his right Rinnegan. His arm jerked from the impact, chakra pouring in through it's pierced Visual Jutsu, but Momoshiki still had enough strength of mind to backhand her, and she grunted as she was struck.

Even then though, almost as if in slow-motion, she saw exactly what her attack had done.

Because of his ingested chakra fruit/seeds, the constant-flowing chakra couldn't be halted for long but it had to have a limit. Upon entry, her chakra forced it's entry as far as it could possibly go and still do what's necessary - that limit came when her chakra reached his shoulder, which spoke of just how strong his own combined chakra was. Even still, her's immediately went to work: the points that connected his arm to the rest of his body, and the points that connected his Rinnegan to the rest of his arm - those closed completely, with a large percentage of her remaining chakra dedicated to _keep_ the two closed as long as possible, as well as keep the flow from coming back. Every single point in-between those two?

Forced open.

Time moved normally again; Hinata went skidding a distance, and her head hurt from the blow but she was okay. Momoshiki wasn't so lucky: his arm's chakra points went into full power, but the buildup of chakra couldn't find room up or down his arm, growing in strength yet seeking an escape... but there was only one. He yelled in anguish as skin, muscles, tendons, most everything in his arm _split open_ , chakra racing out of dozens of wounds, mostly his own but quite a bit of her's included, alongside blood and other things. The effect wasn't unlike those of Shino's Parasitic Giant Insects, and in fact was exactly where she'd gotten the idea- no matter how strong an opponent is on the outside, the inside's often a different matter entirely.

Just then however, Hinata found herself being helped up by Naruto, and they shared a look even as they prepared themselves.

Momoshiki still had some control of his arm, it seemed. "Why you-! What have you done to me!?" he demanded, staring at his ruined right arm, every wound of which was steaming. Just then he yelled again, as suddenly a sword made of lightning energy pierced his shoulder blade, right where the bones connected - Sasuke's Chidori Sharp Spear, shaped upon his original sword and aimed directly from his hollow.

His entire right arm went limp, Rinnegan long since closed; Sasuke hadn't taken any chances with her attempt, as they knew he wouldn't.

Before he could even fully process this event, Boruto was there, enormous Rasengan in tow - Momoshiki's reaction was more akin to fear than anything, and only pure instinct dragged his lookalike jutsu into the way-

 _"Rasengan!"_

-they collided with considerable impact, and the backlash raced up Boruto's arm, severely burning his forearm and destroying a considerable part of the sleeve.

Just then, Hinata and Naruto both covered his hand with theirs, she on his right side and her husband on the left.

He was surprised, to say the least: "Mom!" Boruto said, looking between them. "Dad!"

"Go for it, Boruto" Naruto breathed-

-"You've got this" Hinata finished.

Boruto soon grinned - just like his father - then all three of them looked forward, determined.

"RRRRAAAHHHHHHHH!" they yelled - the Rasengan surged, tunneling through Momoshiki's lookalike until it finally collided with his body, which they all felt. Underneath their hands, Boruto twisted his own to direct the Rasengan, and judging by the yells it was channeling all it's energy directly through Momoshiki - yells and everything - then with a final push, Boruto launched the Rasengan.

He would've flown backward if they hadn't caught him, but he was okay.

At the exact same time, the Rasengan _obliterated_ the trunk of the God Tree, leaving very little remaining. It didn't stop there, racing across the desolate plain and carving a path of destruction from it's presence alone, until finally it turned upward and punched through the cloud cover...

They could hear the explosion from all the way down here, muted though it was.

To her eyes, there was nothing at all remaining except scattered energies - with distinct relief, Hinata reverted her Tenseigan to normal, leaning backward where she sat. Naruto did much the same thing, while Boruto remained for awhile before slowly standing up- they let him, as he just walked a few steps ahead, staring at the result of this battle. The hole in the cloud cover illuminated things considerably better now, shining down on them, with what was left of the dead God Tree in complete ruins. When they looked at where Sasuke had been prior to the Rasengan clash, he was gone of course, but he soon showed up on their right; not far away or nearby.

 _"Just observing, as usual"_ Hinata thought, the adrenaline starting to fade... mmh, she'd definitely be feeling these blows for awhile, but she'd be okay. They're all okay- she smiled, as for a moment, when they'd all placed their hands over Boruto's, she could've sworn she saw the spirit of Himawari's hand helping them all.

For all she knew, maybe it'd been real- Naruto's little smile seemed to be feeling similar, until she saw his gaze was directed at their son.

"He takes after you, ya know" she breathed softly- Naruto gave her a small glance at that, but the smile remained soft, and their hands touched without conscious thought. "Him and Himawari both; I was never that confident at their age."

"Mmh. Think they'll surpass us one day, dear?"

"I think it's a certainty, hehe."

They remained like that for a minute more, and then Sasuke chose to come closer. "Seems you're a wreck" he observed, directed at Naruto alone for now; not exactly surprising... he did glance at her though, expression alone saying he approved of how well she fought; she simply smiled in return, and kept it at that.

Her husband slowly chuckled a little, shifting where he sat. "Yeah... I barely have any energy to stand now" he said, though Hinata knew it's probably a bit of an exaggeration; true, but even still. "Without Kurama's help, I'd probably be unconscious."

Sasuke let out a breath. "Well, can't claim I'm much better" he admitted, glancing toward Boruto, and that was definitely approval in his expression. "And I believe I won this round. The soul of a shinobi remains the same, even for your son."

Mmh- those two and their rivalry, as it never seemed to go away, even when they're friends - still, Naruto's grip became more firm, and his look at Boruto was more faraway.

...

After that, they were soon helped by the others - as Sasuke was already standing, he preferred to just walk on his own; they all knew that without having to hear a word. Naruto had Darui and Chojuro help him up, even as Kurotsuchi helped Hinata, who he noted she seemed to a slight bond with- hmm, maybe he'll ask about that latter.

"I believe you'll want to deal with these two" Gaara spoke then, his sand depositing Katasuke and his assistant.

"Please, make him see reason Kazekage! I was simply trying to demonstrate the power of-"

"You'll get no help from me" Gaara spoke over him, seeming irritated. "None of us will come to your aid; this is an internal matter for the Hokage."

Darui just shrugged, looking bored as always though also amused. "Yeah, that's about it. Even if we want to help, our hands are tied.."

"Is he even any good?" Kurotsuchi asked, smirking and arms crossed. "He probably doesn't even measure up to Boruto, in _any_ category."

Chojuro had his eyes closed, but was smiling. "You got that right, Kurotsuchi."

Naruto was tempted to join in, but had to keep a stern outlook- though he did glance at Hinata and Boruto, the former of which just nodded. "Katasuke" he said, arms crossed. "Your assistant, Kosuke, will get off _this time_ , as clearly he was just following your orders and hasn't done any real damage, but he'll still be under scrutiny for awhile. _You_ however are stripped of your position, both as a scientist and as leader of the Leaf's Science Ninja Weapons Team. In addition, your ninja rank of Jonin is temporarily suspended until proven otherwise."

"Sir, you can't-!"

"I can, and I just did" he charged. "With the other Kage as my witnesses, so it is done."

Hinata spoke then, hands on their son's shoulders; her voice was as icy as they'd ever heard, enough that it startled Boruto. "You used my son for your own purposes, and endangered us all with your arrogance" she said. "You're lucky my husband hasn't thrown you in prison."

Naruto smirked a little - any other time, he'd have been unnerved at hearing that from his wife (and he might still be later), but he agreed. "I considered that option, make no mistake" he added carefully. "And if you try to cause trouble again, I probably _will_. But for now you're gonna work to help rebuild the Chunin Exams arena, as part of your new 'job'."

Just like that, before the man could unconvincingly grovel/beg again, Naruto just moved off - it wasn't long before Hinata followed, Boruto in tow. Sasuke and the other four Kage following as well, Katasuke and his assistant in tow, but Naruto could tell a measure of Gaara's sand silently followed behind - just in case on Gaara's part, and he approved.

"Think you have enough chakra?" he asked of Sasuke-

-who shook his head.

Half-turning, Naruto looked at the other Kage - with barely a nod, they understood; one-by-one, Gaara, Darui, Chojuro, and Kurotsuchi channeled their chakra into Sasuke. Several seconds passed, then Sasuke said 'Enough' and they stopped... just like that, Sasuke opened his Rinnegan and his purple-black portal sprang into being again.

Hinata went first, followed by Boruto; Naruto then looked at Katasuke, jerking his head toward the portal. "Not a word" he said to that man, the moment his mouth even twitched.

/

 _The next day_

Hinata carefully worked, but even as she held up Boruto's jacket, she knew that large gash near the shoulder would take awhile to fix up.

"It's okay mom" her son said, to her small surprise- he hadn't looked from his video game. "Just leave it; it looks cool that way. Ahhh..."

Judging from his behavior, he'd lost on his video game- it was almost funny. "I'll take my jacket, mom" he said, standing up and coming over - part of her wanted to say she'd repair it anyway, but she gave it to him after a moment. Boruto soon smiled a little, holding it in his bandaged right hand - he'd wanted it to heal naturally for the 'cool bandage' look - "It's time for me to get going."

She just smiled, already seeing that he'd changed a little- all that craziness had done some good, but Hinata hoped there wouldn't be any more surprises like that.

"Uh dad? Don't you have to run too?"

"Oh yeah, that's right; I do" he breathed, smiling a little as he quickly stood up-

-Himawari was already standing up too, a big smile on her face. "Don't forget your lunch, dad" she cheered a little, grabbing it - Naruto was sheepish, even saying 'Oops', but accepted it while returning the same smile. "Thank you, Himawari."

Just then she remembered: "Oh no, Boruto forgot his too" she said while trying not to laugh, grabbing it. Himawari giggled at her brother quickly/embarrassingly taking it, and Hinata couldn't help but join in by then.

"See ya, I'm outta!"

"I'm heading out too!"

"Have a good day!" she and Himawari called after them, just before the door closed on it's own. Hinata just smiled, even as Himawari soon turned to her, hands behind her back- she was grinning a little, not unlike Naruto did.

Even now, she loved that sight from her daughter, as well as her son.

"Mom, when's the next story gonna be?" she asked, eager.

Hinata hummed, glancing up for a bit. "Well, probably tonight if all goes well" she said, a little teasing.

Her daughter soon jumped a little, excited. "I'm not even sure I can wait that long!" she said to herself, so full of excitement, and not even sounding impatient at all... and yet somehow her movements, specifically her hair-rubbing motions, resembled Naruto whenever he got impatient.

Well, like she'd said, their kids took after their father in several ways- and that's certainly not a bad thing, she thought.

* * *

 **Only thing left out was the group photo-op, but we're all certain it happened hehe.** **Yet anyway, that's the end of this semi-retelling - largely the same of course, but adjusted to make the big fight three-on-one.**

 **As a result, Momoshiki was overall stronger... physically/chakra-wise anyway, and with some Tailed Beast-esque chakra healing ability (one of the few ways he could've taken damage from Hinata's Gentle Fist style and _not_ had things end abruptly :P). But with his personality being what it was, smarter usage of such tactics was kinda out of the question... a shame. Yet still, I combined him with his novel version, able to use Ice Style to the point that he can create absolute-zero level blizzards, as much a threat as the Lava Style bits. It's not really realistic, since in real life absolute-zero would do much, much more were it ever achieved, but what can you do?**

 **I wish I could see this version animated, but imagining it alongside the canon movie will have to do XD S** **till hoped you all enjoyed.**


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